Projectile.



H. H. HENDRIX.

PROJEGTILE.

APPLICATION FILED JAILS, 1910.

966,744. Patented Aug. 9,1910.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFTQE.

HARRISON H. HENDRIX, OF POWELL STATION, TENNESSEE.

PROJECTILE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAnRIsoN H. HEN- nnrx, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Powell Station, in the county of Knox and State ofTennessee, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Projectiles, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawmg.

My improvement relates particularly to projectiles intended for firingfrom smooth bore and rifle guns, provision being made in the projectilefor imparting rotation thereto by the action of the atmosphere duringthe flight of the projectile.

The object of the invention is to produce such a projectile adapted foraccurate flight and for economical manufacture and to be used in asmooth bore gun, in order that, in the use of the projectile, there maybe freedom from fouling and clogging of the gun and the disastersfollowing such fouling and clogging,

A characteristic of my projectile is its adaptation to spread or bur atthe forward end upon making impact against a hard body.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of myprojectile; Fig. 2 is a front elevation; Fig. 3 is a rear elevationwithout the closing n'lernber; Fig. l a sectional side elevation of theprojectile; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section on the line 55 of Fig.1; Fig. ('3 is a section on the line 66 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a rearelevation and Fig. 8 a side elevation of a disk or closing memberapplied to the rear end of the projectile.

Referring to said drawings, A is the body of the projectile. This iscombined with a shell or tube, B, and a disk-form closing member, D, ashereinafter described. Said body is composed of steel or other hardmetal and has any desired number of wings, 1, which are approximatelyradial in a cross section of said body but extend parallel to each otherand slightly oblique or out of parallel to the axis. And the obliquityof said wings is preferably gradually increased, so that said wingsbecome slightly curved lengthwise, the curvature gradually increasingfrom the front to the rear end of said body, as shown in the drawings.From the rear toward and almost to the front end of said body, saidwings extend to the same distance from the axis of said body, therebySpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 3, 1910.

Patented Aug. 9, 1910. Serial No. 535,910.

adapting said bodyto fit closely within the cylindrical tube, B. But theouter edges of the forward portions of said Wings gradually extend outfarther and farther from the axis of said body, to or almost to theouter surface of said tube or shell, the latter being formed withinternal notches or grooves, 2, for receiving said wings. Said shell isonly long enough to cover the outer edges of said wings, and said bodyprojects forward to the front end of said shell to form an obtuse,conical point, C, the length of said point being approximately equal toone-third the diameter of said projectile. The outer edges of the wingsand the inner face of the shell may be formed with inter-engagingirregularities so as to normally hold the body and the shell together.For this purpose, a notch 3, may be cut into the outer edge of anydesired number of wings, 1, preferably in such manner as to form ashoulder, 4C, directed toward the front end of the body to receive therear end of a depressed portion of the wall of the shell, as a tongue,5, formed in the shell, B, opposite said edge of said wing and directedtoward the rear and against said shoulder. Said tongue and said shoulderengage each other to prevent rearward movement of the shell upon thebody during the discharge and flight of the projectile.

The disk-form closing member, I), is of substantially the same diameteras the shell or tube, B, and extends across the rear end of said shelland said body and receives the pressure of the explosion gases, forminga cover for the openings between the Wings, 1, and said shell or tube.This serves to give the projectile the full force of the expansiveaction of the explosion gases and also prevents said gases from passingthrough the oblique passages of the projectile and causing the latter torotate in the direction opposed to the direction designed to be given tothe projectile by the atmosphere through which the projectile is flying.The disk, D, need not be attached to the end of the projectile; but itis preferable to so attach it by some sort of adhesive or other meanswhich will readily allow automatic detachment during the discharge ofthe projectile from the gun, said disk then falling out of the course ofthe projectile as does an ordinary wad in an ordinary cartridge.

In operation, the projectile is placed into a smooth bore gun in frontof an explosive charge. Said charge is then exploded, the

force thereof going against the disk, D, and driving the entireprojectile forward, said disk, as above stated, leaving the course ofthe main portion (the body, A, and the shell, 13,) of the projectile,and such main portion going forward in a direct course. While theprojectile thus traverses its course, the air rushes through thepassages between the wings, l, and the shell, B, from the front to therear, bearing against the oblique faces of said wings and therebycausing a rotation of the projectile. The entrance of air into saidpassages is facilitated by making the point of the body, A, obtuse, asshown by the drawings and above described. If said point were acute, itwould tend to spread the air outward over the front edge of the shell,B, without entering said passages. In this manner the projectile moveswithout change in its organization until the point strikes asufliciently hard object to cause such a sudden arrest of the body, A,as will cause the shell, B, to slide forward over said body, the frontend of the shell, on account of the outward extension of the wings, 1,splitting along and adjacent the grooves or notches, 2, and theintermediate portions of the shell flaring or burring outward until theymeet the hard body or object against which the point of the body, A, hasstruck, and then flaring orburring still further, if the momentum ofsaid shell is sufficient and the body against which impact has been madeis hard enough. In thus moving, the depressed portions, 5, of the shellmove forward away from the shoulders, 4.

The shell, B, is preferably formed of some relatively soft metal, inorder that it will not injure the bore of the gun and in order that itmay be readily secured to the body, A.

I claim as my invention:

1. A projectile comprising a body, a cylindrical shell, and a closingmember, said shell surrounding said body and said body havingapproximately radial, longitudinal wings which are parallel to eachother and out of parallel to the axis of said body and haveirregularities in their outer edges making engagement with correspondingirregularities in said shell, and said body extending forward of theforward end of said shell, substantially as described.

2. A projectile comprising a body, a cylin drical shell surrounding saidbody, and a closing member, said shell having interior notches orgrooves at its forward end, and said body having approximately radial,longitudinal wings extending into the notches of said shell and arrangedparallel to each other and out of parallel to the axis of said body, andsaid body extending forward of the forward end of said shell,substantially as described.

3. A projectile comprising a body, a cylindrical shell surrounding saidbody, and a closing member, said shell having interior notches orgrooves at its forward end, and said body having approximately radial,longitudinal wings extending into the notches of said shell and arrangedparallel to each other and out of parallel to the axis of said body, andthe outer edges of said wings having notches and the wall of said shellbeing pressed into said notches, and said body extending forward of theforward end of said shell, substantially as described.

4. A projectile comprising a body, a cylindrical shell, and a closingmember, said shell surrounding said body and said body havingapproximately radial, longitudinal wings which are parallel to eachother and out of parallel to the axis of said body and haveirregularities in their outer edges making engagement with correspondingirregularities in said shell, and said body being obtusely pointedforward of the forward end of said shell, substantially as described.

5. A projectile comprising a body, a cylin drical shell surrounding saidbody, and a closing member, said shell having interior notches orgrooves at its forward end, and said body having approximately radial,longitudinal wings extending into the notches of said shell and arrangedparallel to each other and out of parallel to the axis of said body, andsaid body being obtusely pointed forward of the forward end of saidshell, substantially as described.

6. A projectile comprising a body, a cylindrical shell surrounding saidbody, and a closing member, said shell having interior notches orgrooves at its forward end, and said body having approximately radial,longitudinal wings extending into the notches of said shell and arrangedparallel to each other and out of parallel to the axis of said body, andthe outer edges of said wings having notches and the wall of said shellbeing pressed into said notches, and said body being obtusely pointedforward of the forward end of said shell, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name, in presence of twowitnesses, this 27th day of December, in the year one thousand ninehundred and nine.

HARRISON H. HENDRIX. l Vitnesses JAlVIES A. MCBATI-I, H. A. JOHNSON.

